What is Chikungunya?

• Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952.
• It is an RNA virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae.

Signs and symptoms

• Chikungunya is characterized by an abrupt onset of fever frequently accompanied by joint pain. 
• Other common signs and symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.
• The disease shares some clinical signs with dengue and zika, and can be misdiagnosed in areas where they are common.

Transmission

• The virus is transmitted from human to human by the bites of infected female mosquitoes. 
• Most commonly, the mosquitoes involved are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two species which can also transmit other mosquito-borne viruses, including dengue.

Treatment

• There is no specific antiviral drug treatment for chikungunya.
• Treatment is directed primarily at relieving the symptoms, including the joint pain using anti-pyretics, optimal analgesics and fluids.
• There is no commercial chikungunya vaccine.

Why in News?

Studying the geographic distribution and evolution of the chikungunya virus over the period from 2005-2018, a team from ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, has noted India as an endemic reservoir for the virus with persistent global transmissions from the country.

References:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chikungunya#:~:text=Chikungunya%20is%20a%20viral%20disease,and%20can%20vary%20in%20duration.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/persistent-global-transmission-of-chikungunya-from-india/article31821943.ece